Abstract

Abstract Anomerically free acidic xylo-oligosaccharides have shown interesting biological properties when tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative aerobically grown bacteria, as well as against Helicobacter pylori, sarcoma-180 and other tumors. We report here a structure–activity relationship study on the role of 4-O-methyl glucuronic acid (MeGlcUA) in regulating aggregation of β-polyxylosides of (9H-fluoren-9-yl)- methanol obtained via the action of Thermotoga neapolitana xylanase. Neutral compounds from mono- to penta-β-1,4 xylosides were obtained from this biocatalyzed reaction. In addition, acidic components among products, carrying an α-1,2 4-O-methyl glucuronic acid (MeGlcUA) were also isolated. An anti-proliferative test of these compounds on human epithelial EFO 27 ovarian cancer cells indicated that the presence of MeGlcUA modulates their biological activity, while its absence induces molecular aggregation. The three-dimensional structure of the most active MeGlcUA β-polyxyloside was investigated by resorting to NOESY experiments supported by dynamic force-field calculations with/without constraints. The 3D structure is characterized by all sugars possessing a 4C 1 chair conformation. The MeGlcUA moiety, and the external and middle xyloses adopt a hairpin-shaped conformation, generating a non-planar arrangement of the molecule with the aromatic ring folding back toward the carbohydrate chain. Such a non-planar conformation may justify the lack of aggregation.

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